Arbitration Hearing Between City, Police Union Scheduled for Mid February

JAMESTOWN – Officers with the Jamestown Police Department have been working under the terms of an expired contract since the start of 2016, but that may soon come to an end.

Following months of negotiations between the city and the Kendall Club PBA collective bargaining unit that resulted in no new collective bargaining agreement, the issue of finalizing a new contract for police union members will now go before an arbitration panel in February.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi last week said the arbitration hearing will be held Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 12-13. The independent arbitrator for the panel will be Howard Foster. The other two panel members will be City clerk Todd Thomas and John Crotty, who will serve on behalf of the police officers.

Because municipal contract negotiations do not take place in public, it is not known what the main sticking point or points were between the city and police union that lead to an impasse in negotiations.